Thaindian News

Bangalore, Sep 5 (IANS) India’s IT hub Bangalore, along with the rest of the country, will come forward to make a difference in the lives of less privileged section of the society during the ‘Joy of Giving Week’, from Sep 27 to Oct 2.
The week-long event is the brain child of NGO GiveIndia.

On Friday, Cricketer Rahul Dravid and former badminton champion Prakash Padukone jointly announced Bangalore’s participation in the ‘Joy of Giving Week’.

Both sporting icons also pledged their support for the cause.

“This is a unique concept to bring all Indians together to indulge in acts of kindness. We just want all to give their time, money or just skills for the underprivileged,” said Venkat Krishnan, director of GiveIndia, while announcing the Bangalore edition of the event.

“It will be a mass movement covering about one crore Indians, and volunteer groups in metros and smaller towns are already working on it. GiveIndia is just a bridge; a lot of us want to give but don’t know whom to give. We help people to find the right organisations and causes they can help,” added Krishnan.

Bangalore has lined up a plethora of events to make the week a “truly special” one.

Right from theatre personality Arundhati Nag offering non-governmental organisations free access to her theatre auditorium Ranga Shankara here during the week, to Bangalore-based voluntary organisation Janaagraha kickstarting its latest campaign ‘Billion Voters’.

“We are offering the ground floor of Ranga Shankara complex during the week to NGOs free of cost, so that they can host various events. Moreover, three extra shows of plays at the theatre will be made available to underprivileged theatre enthusiasts,” said Nag.

Janaagraha, during the week will promote active citizen engagement in voting and electoral issues, by establishing ‘Citizenship Clubs’ in colleges towards the ‘One Billion Voters’ campaign.

NGO Dream-A-Dream will launch ‘Dreamathon’ for its fund-raising campaign, while M.S. Ramaiah Hospital will reach out to six old-age homes and conduct free medical check-ups for the residents and SAP Labs will conduct a service programme offering computer classes for children and collect toys for them, besides reaching out to elders’ homes.

“We’re planning to hold a ‘Dreamathon’ during the week. Around 1,500 volunteers from our NGO will raise fund through various innovative activities including amateur music concerts and photo exhibitions to name a few,” senior member of Dream a Dream Vishal Talreja said.